Paxtradings Crypto Minute: April 22, 2018

Amazon Web Services has launched “AWS Blockchain Templates,” which gives users blockchain framework templates. According to CNBC, the templates currently support decentralized application development on Ethereum and the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Fabric blockchain networks.

Venture Capital Working Group Lobbies U.S. SEC to Exempt Utility Tokens from Security Classification

The Venture Capital Working Group — an alliance of lawyers, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs — have met with the U.S. SEC to lobby against the classification of all cryptocurrencies as securities. According to CryptoSlate, the working group is proposing that “fully functional” utility tokens should be exempt from the SEC’s current definition of a security. Defining all cryptocurrencies from ICOs results in a high level of regulatory scrutiny in the United States.

The SEC has announced charges against Raymond Trapani, the third co-founder of Centra Tech Inc. According to TechCrunch, Centra Tech Inc. raised USD 32 million in an ICO that promised the release of a cryptocurrency debit card last year. The company’s other two co-founders, Sam Sharma and Robert Farkas, were arrested earlier this month. The SEC’s Cyber Unit Chief Robert A. Cohen stated, “We allege that the Centra co-founders went to great lengths to create the false impression that they had developed a viable, cutting-edge technology.”